Canada earns second win over Costa Rica in sitting volleyball at Defi Sportif

MONTREAL – José Rebelo of Montreal provided a great service to Team Canada on Saturday in a 25-18, 25-14, 19-25, 25-12 victory over Costa Rica in men’s sitting volleyball at the Défi Sportif multi sport event for athletes with a disability.

Both squads are preparing for the Para PanAm Games and Paralympic qualification in Guadalajara, Mexico this November.

Rebelo served a seven point scoring run in the second set which included back-to-back aces and finished the match with nine services and only one error. Doug Learoyd also had a strong match which included back to back kills to seal the second set.

Brad Quast of Edmonton ended the match with a service ace in the fourth set.

"The overall execution was much crisper tonight than last night,’’ said Canada’s head coach Ian Halliday. ‘’We are however still relying too heavily on our serve to generate our points and need to make less unforced errors in the other aspects of our game".

The two countries square off again on Sunday. This is the first time sitting volleyball is on the Défi Sportif program.